Forgiven but not Forgotten?. ABBY GREEN

‘I paid a high price for your petulant need to save face with your father that night, Siena. I was sacked and blacklisted from every hotel in Europe overnight, and I had the very unsavoury rumour of my having forced myself on a woman dogging my heels. My fledgling career was ruined. I had to go to America to start again.’

      Siena couldn’t bear to feel that shame again and she lashed out. ‘So—what? I pay you now by becoming your mistress?’

      Andreas smiled and it was feral. ‘That and more, Siena DePiero. You pay me by admitting to yourself and me just how much you want me.’

      She looked at this man in the soft light of her grotty flat. He was standing like a maurauding pirate, legs firmly planted wide apart. Chest broad and powerful. Strip away the civilised veneer of the tuxedo and this man was a pure urban animal of the most potent kind.

      He’s been looking for you for six months. He’s not just going to walk away… The realisation sent tendrils of panic mixed with something much more humiliatingly exciting through Siena’s blood. The confines of the tiny flat seemed to draw in around them even more.

      She emitted a curt laugh to hide her trepidation. ‘So—what? You’d lock me into your penthouse apartment and take me out like a toy of some kind for your pleasure only?’ She’d been aiming to sound scathing but her voice betrayed her, sounding almost as if she was considering this.

      Andreas’s eyes gleamed in the dim light and he smiled. ‘I can’t deny that that image does have its appeal, but, no, I’d have no problem being seen with you in public. I don’t have an issue with public opinion—unlike some people.’

      Andreas was looking at her coolly, clearly waiting for her to say something.

      ‘And what then?’ she asked, feeling a little hysterical at being in this situation, discussing this with Andreas Xenakis. ‘You just drop me back here at the side of the road when you’re done?’

      Andreas’s mouth firmed. ‘I take care of all my…lovers.’ He shrugged negligently. ‘They’re usually self-sufficient, but with your range of language skills alone I don’t doubt that with a little help you could find a decent job…certainly something better than menial labour.’

      Siena laughed. The hysteria was taking over. Controlling herself with an effort, she looked at Andreas. ‘This truly is a turn-up for the books, isn’t it? You offering to help me find a job…’

      Siena’s cutting voice was hiding one of her deepest vulnerabilities: the fact that she had no qualification beyond her exclusive education. Yes, she had numerous languages and could speak them fluently. Yes, she knew how to host a dinner party for fifty people and more. Yes, she knew how to arrange flowers and how to behave in front of royalty and diplomats, how to conduct conversation ranging from world politics to the history of art… But when it came to the real world—real life—she knew nothing. Had no skills or qualifications. She’d been destined for a life of social politics. And Andreas knew that.

      She prayed he wouldn’t touch her again and moved around him on wobbly legs to open the front door. There were no more disturbing sounds coming from her neighbours. She looked back into the room with relief, to see that Andreas had followed her. But the relief was short-lived when he gently but firmly pushed the door shut again.

      Sounding eminently reasonable, Andreas said, ‘I’m offering you an opportunity, Siena, a chance to move upwards and make a life for yourself again.’

      Siena crossed her arms against this threat. He wasn’t moving. She forced herself to look up at him. Her mouth twisted and she spoke her fears. ‘We both know it’s not an offer, Andreas. You haven’t spent six months searching for me to just walk away.’

      He smiled again and agreed equably, ‘No, I haven’t. It really wouldn’t be such a chore, Siena… I’d see to it that you enjoyed yourself. You’d want for nothing.’

      ‘For as long as your interest lasts?’

      His face immediately became more stark and Siena knew she’d hit a nerve. She was intrigued despite herself. ‘That’s all I’m offering, Siena. A finite amount of time as my lover until we’re both ready to move on. I have no desire for anything more permanent—certainly not with you.’

      Siena barely registered his insult. She was fighting against his dark pull and she opened the door again—only to have Andreas reach out lazily and shut it. She wanted to stamp her feet and glared at him.

      ‘Look, Xenakis—’

      ‘No!’

      His voice stopped the breath in her throat. He looked fierce and magnificent in the gloom. He came closer and her heart thudded painfully.

      ‘You look. This is only going to end one way: by you agreeing to come with me now. If you want a further demonstration of how susceptible you are to me then by all means I’m happy to provide it here and now, but—’ He cut himself off and looked around the room with clear disgust, then back to Siena. ‘I personally would prefer to make love to you for the first time in more…luxurious surroundings.’

      The thought and, worse, the knowledge that he could take her here if he so wanted made Siena move further away. She felt as if a noose was tightening around her neck.

      Andreas watched as Siena distanced herself and curbed the almost animalistic urge he had to put her over his shoulder and carry her bodily out of this pathetic, stinking place. His blood was boiling with lust and determination. As soon as his mouth had touched hers he’d known with a visceral certainty that he would not be leaving her behind in this place. He didn’t like to admit that a part of him couldn’t bear to think of her in these surroundings. It was like dropping a perfect diamond into the filthiest of stagnant ponds.

      Trying to curb the impatience he felt, Andreas pointed out, ‘You don’t have anyone to turn to, Siena. If you’re hoping for some blue-blooded knight to ride up on a white horse and forgive you the sins of your father it’s not going to happen. Don’t forget—I know your sins.’

      Siena turned to face Andreas again, hugging her arms even tighter around herself, unaware of how huge her eyes looked in her face.

      His words had cut her far deeper than she wanted him to see. He was right. She didn’t have anyone to turn to. She and Serena did have an older half-brother, but she had little doubt that after the treatment he’d received at the hands of their father, not to mention the way Siena and her sister had ignored him so blatantly when they’d seen him in the street the day he’d confronted their father, he would not relish her getting in touch out of the blue. He had become a billionaire financier against all the odds and must despise her just as he must despise their father, for humiliating him like a dog in the street.

      Her sister was in no position to be of any support and never really had been, despite being the older by two years. And that brought Siena back to the stark realisation that she might have no one to turn to, but Serena was expecting to turn to Siena when she needed her. And she needed her now. Dismay filled her. How could she have forgotten even for a moment about Serena?

      The hectic pulse of her blood mocked her. The reason was standing just feet away from her. Siena could feel the fight draining from her weary body. A sense of inevitability washed over her. It had been no coincidence that Andreas had met her tonight. He’d searched for her. And he would not rest now he knew where she was. She had nowhere else to go. Nowhere to hide. No resources.

      As if he sensed the direction her thoughts were taking, Siena could see Andreas’s eyes flash triumphantly in the gloom.

      Suddenly, as if she’d been injected with a dose of adrenalin, her brain became clear. Thinking of her sister focused her thoughts. If she was going to walk out of this apartment with this man she had to make sure that the one person who needed her was going to benefit.

      The thought of telling Andreas about her sister, appealing to his humanity, was anathema. If anything, this evening had proved just how far Andreas was willing to go to seek